Tablet counter and dispenser



Patented Jan. 2, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TABLET COUNTER ANDDISPENSER Josephv R. De- Philip, Pittsburgh, Pa..

Application March 24, 1948', Serial No. 16,717

(Cl. 2li-Ji ZvCIaims. l This invention relates generally to pellet countingl and dispensing and particularly to apparatus for counting pellets' such as pills or tablets and dispensing the same without touching or otherwise handlingV them.

At drug houses and pharmaceutical stores it is necessary to count many pills and tablets in order-to place them in receptacles such as boxes or bottles for wholesale and retail distribution. The majority of this character of work is manual and it is necessary to handle the pills or tablets iniorder' to. place thernfin their proper: receptacles unless: theyr are directly eiected fromV a machine which forms or otherwise makes the pills and counts them as they leave the machine. Frequently pilis are provided with sweetened coat-y ings. which arel readily attacked` bythe moisture on the. hands causing the pills to become unsightly. The practice of handlingv pills or tablets with the hands is ofcourse unsanitary.

The principal object ofv this invention is apparatus forcounting and dispensingA pills or tablets to. avoid` their being touchedr bythe human hands.

Another Objectis the provision of a pill and tablet. dispenser which informs the operator the size of receptacle required for receiving the counted. pillsv or tablets.

Another object is the provision of' a pellet counter and dispenser which is enabled to dispense pills or tablets of different sizes.

Another object is the provision of a pellet dispenser which displays the size ofthe container in which the counted pellets should be inserted.

Other objects and advantages appear hereinafter in the following description and claims.

A practical embodiment illustrating the principles of this invention is illustrated inthe ac'- companying drawing-wherein:

Fig. l is a plan View of' the tablet dispenser comprising this invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a sectiontaken along the line 3-3 of Fig.. 2:

Fig. 4' is a section taken along the line 4--4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the underside of the lid of the tablet counter and dispenser;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along the lines 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawing, the tablet counter and dispenser l is in box form and is preferably made up of a transparent material such as a plastic. Methyl methacrylate is a suitable plas- 2 tic material from` which this box can be constructed as it is transparent and it maybe fabricated from parts or it may-be molded.

The container or box l comprises the base 2 having a side wall 4, a front wall 5" and a short rear wall l. The other side wall is formed by means of the trough or tubular lmember 8", one side ofA which is open to the chamber of the box i. as indicated by the throat Il! which extends longitudinally of the box. In order to secure the tubular member 8 tothe box I the lowerportion may becemented to the side edge of the bottom 2 as illustrated at l l. The rear end 'l of the box is shorter in height than the side wall l as shown in Fig. 4 and is provided with a circular portion i3 formed integrally on the. end thereof and arranged to close the tubular portion 8. The side i is secured to the rear end l and also tov the other edge of the bottom 2. The front end5` overlaps the side 4. as shown in Figs. l and 3 and is secured integrally thereto. The tubular portion 8 is arranged toextend beyond the front end 5 of the box as illustrated at. f4 and is. completely circular to provide a snout having a throat i6 through which the pills or tablets are. dispensed. The corresponding end of the front wall 5 is formed to t the perimetral surface of the snout it and is cemented thereto'.

rIEhe-side Wall 4 and the front wall 5 are provided'with a slot l'l for receiving the corresponding side and end of the box top i9 which is shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The edge of the lid i9 adjacent to the circular portion 8 is provided with a tongue 2D arranged to be operated in the groove 22 in the upper portion of the circular portion 8. Thus, the lid I9 is guided by the grooves li and 22 when slid into place andthe front edge of the lid is arranged to be received in the groove l1 of the front. wall 5 of the box. The rearV edge of the lid I9 is provided with a depending iiange. 23 arranged to close the gap. formed by the short rear wall l when the. lid is completely closed on the box. This prevents the under surface of the lid from being scratched by the top edge of the, rear wall 'L AA finger notch 25 is formed in the top surface of the, lidy to enable the operator to open and close the same.

The bottom 2 of the box is provided with a series of uniformly spaced depressions 26, of Whichithere are 5 in alignment in one direction and 10 in alignment in the other direction providing a total of 50 depressions. The under side of the lid i9 isv` likewise provided with asimilar number ci .depressions 21' which are. smaller in size than the depressions '26. Thus, the structure shown is designed to count pills or tablets in quantities of 50, the larger depressions 26 in the bottom 2 being employed for a number of sizes of pills or tablets wherein each depression 26 will only permit one pill to lodge in each depression. The depressions 21 in the under side of the lid are'arranged to receive smaller pills which, if employed with the depressions 26, would lodge more than one. Thus, the depressions 26 and 2'! will each function to lodge a series of pellet sizes ordinarily found in pills and tablets. The depressions 26 and 2l are preferably made dish-shaped so that they will contain a cylinder pellet as well as an elliptically shaped pellet.

The side of the cylinder portion 8 is provided with a series of graduating marks which are numbered in thirds from 3 to 27 inclusive in both directions of the box to depict the size or character of container to be employed in storing the number and size of pills that are being counted and dispensed. Thus, the cylinder portion 8 represents a vial and provides a count that may correspond to the unit of measurement such as drains for the pellet counter in which the counted pills are to be deposited.

In order to count a given number of pills such as 50 the lid I9 is slid rearwardly to open the box and a quantity of pills is poured therein and the lid of the box is then closed. By shucking the box the pellets will seek the depressions 2S and when all of these depressions are filled the operator tilts the box toward the cylinder portion 8 and the excess number of pills will slide past the pellets in the depressions and through the throat l into the cylinder chamber from whence they may be poured back into the original pellet container by tilting the box downwardly toward the snout I4, The thumb and forenger may be employed to guide the snout to the mouth of -the bottle and thereby return the excess pellets to the original container. The box may then be turned vertically and all of the remaining or counted pellets will become dislodged from the depressions 26 and flow through the throat I 0 into the cylinder chamber. The box may then be tilted toward the snout if closed or rearwardly to stack the pellets within the cylinder container. The operator can then observe by the graduating scale the size of container required for the pellets and after selecting the container will tilt the box forwardly with the snout to the mouth of the container and thereby dispense the pellets into the receptacle without touching or otherwise handling the pellets.

If the pellets are of a smaller size the box may be opened and a quantity of pellets poured therein. After closing the box it may be turned upside down so that the depressions in the under surface of the lid function as a counting panel for the pellets. The excess pellets are then shucked to ll the selected depressions and the box is then tilted to slide the excess pellets to the cylinder chamber and returned to the original container by pouring them through the snout I4. The box may then be turned vertically so that all of the counted pills are slid into the cylinder chamber where they are measured for the purpose of selecting the dispensing container which when selected is held at the snout. The box is again tilted in a forward direction to flow the pills through the snout into the container. If it is desired to count a number of pellets less than the number of that of the depressions in the counting boards, formed by the bottom and the lid of the box, a card may be placed, as shownA at 30, within the chamber of the box having cut out sections which expose the desired number of pellets to be counted. The ends of the card may be arranged to snugly fit the front and rear walls of the box and hold it in position during the counting operation. In this manner any selected number of pellets less thanthe depressions on the counting boards lmay be counted and dispensed in the manner previously described.

' surfaces are not kept free of scratches they become partially translucent making it difficult to observe the pellets. Thus, the enlarged cylindrical portion keeps the surfaces from getting scratched and maintains the transparency of the box.

I claim:

l. A pellet counter and dispenser consisting of a box of transparent material having a slidable closure lid and a hollow cylindrical side wall open i to the interior of the box, the outer diameter of the hollow cylindrical side wall being greater than the thickness of the box, a pellet counting board surface on one of the inner surfaces of the box and including a predetermined series of depressions each arranged to lodge a pellet, said counting board surface arranged to discharge pellets laterally to the hollow cylindrical side wall when the box is tilted, and a spout at the end of the hollow cylindrical side wall for dispensing the excess and the counted pellets in turn from the counting board surface of the box.

2. A device for counting and dispensing pellets without touching them by the human hands, comprising a container having an access opening for receiving the pellets, a series of space depressions each of which may lodge a pellet to form a counting board surface within the container, a trough on one side of the container for receiving in turn the excess and counted pellets from the counting board surface, graduated markings along said trough to indicate the size of a container necessary to receive the pellets in the trough, and a spout at one end of the trough for guiding the excess and the counted pellets in turn when discharged from the counter.

JOSEPH R. DE PHILIP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS France Apl. 29, 1929 

